After leaving the cell, I found myself unsure of what to do. Technically, I had three directions: exploring the Misty Mountains, investigating the Treasure Pavilion, and trying to have a talk with one of the imprisoned beings.

Unfortunately, all three options were fraught with dangers that could threaten even me. The dangers of exploring the mist were obvious. While it was filled with treasures, it was also filled with dangerous monsters — and possibly more — that would make going deeper a challenge. And, that was discounting the fact that the mist had some kind of sentience behind it.

A land filled with monsters and a sentient mist … I wasn't ready to go any deeper than the outskirts yet.

Investigating the Treasure Pavilion seemed to be equally scary. For their existence to be untouched despite interfering with a topic that the other sects clearly wanted to suppress while selling that many valuable items, their strength was clearly not to be underestimated.

It looked like a confrontation with one of those imprisoned beings was the best idea. Of the three options, they were the least scariest ones, their strength clearly depleted during their long imprisonment. Moreover, their prisons had already been sabotaged by the other cultivators, and even if the worst happened and they escaped, no one would be searching for me.

With that in mind, I traveled toward the Linnass Kingdom. It was the perfect target for multiple reasons. For one, it was still at war with Zaim, so it was a good target to visit for some revenge for all the trouble they had created for my beautiful Aisnam. Then, it was the proximity to the spirit vein, which meant I could still use the limitless Qi from the vein in case of a troubling event.

Then, there was the fact that their stone gate had been sabotaged as well, meaning any further intervention easier to hide.

The Linnass capital was an impressive city. Its outer walls were tall and weathered, filled with martial artists to create an intimidating sight. However, their walls were pristine, showing that the growing war of the mortal domain was yet to reach their capital.

But, that didn't mean that they weren't aware of the risks. Every gate had been guarded by a platoon of martial artists, checking every visitor carefully to prevent a problem.

Unfortunately for them, neither their tall walls nor their valiant martial artists could keep me away. It didn't even slow me down. I could have gone to the stone gate that was under the palace easily, but instead, I decided to walk the markets, particularly toward the auction house, curious if I could find anything valuable.

For that purpose, I made sure to change once more. Once again, I was dressed as a young valiant martial artist who had been injured, ready to claim that I had suffered a dangerous injury that ruined me while I was fighting for Linnass. It was a good way to make people pity me despite the circumstances.

Unfortunately, there wasn't anything that was worth the effort that would trigger the System. For that reason, I decided to treat it as a stroll, enjoying the grandeur of the capital like a tourist.

Technically, Linnass was enemy territory, but I didn't let that ruin my perspective. Ultimately, the mortals filling the city were the victims of the circumstances. Even back on Earth, it was not easy to stop the greedy government people from doing something.

And, back then, politicians couldn't kill hundreds of people just with their bare fist.

I walked among the people, enjoying the stalls displaying wares of all kinds, some rusty with time, some glistening as people tried to turn their wealth into something more useful. A good reminder of why this time I didn't choose to stand as a bystander, but actively fought.

I took a deep breath, walking forward when … a strange feeling settled on me. It felt almost like being drunk, but it was not. It was something different. An ephemeral feeling, difficult to notice and easy to ignore. If I didn't have the absolute confidence to get away even if the worst happened, I would have been too scared to follow it.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

As long as I stayed in the range of the spirit vein, I was invincible below Golden Core.

The sensation had been weird and ephemeral, and soon, I found myself standing in front of an old man with a stall that was filled with various useless sundries. An old, affable old man with a long beard, who looked pitiful and dignified at the same time.

Suddenly, I was very glad that I hadn't removed the formation I had designed to keep myself concealed. The reason was simple. I could sense a slight aura of Qi around the old man. A cultivator, but that wasn't the problem.

No, the problem was that the only reason I could even feel his presence was because I was right next to him, and my Meditation skills had been raised past Perfection. A part of me wished that I couldn't feel his Qi, as it wasn't the soft and loose Qi of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but it was tight and condensed.

A Golden Core cultivator.

It took all I had not to run away. I had already walked close enough to be dangerous, and while trying to commit to a first strike would benefit me, it would only be a limited help. I had already drifted into a troubling situation.

"A customer. How interesting," he said even as he chuckled, looking at me. I felt the probing of his Qi. Luckily, he only used a soft probing, which didn't break my formation. He seemed convinced of my status. I was tempted to absorb his Qi to see if it could trigger the System, but I didn't dare to. He had excellent control and no leakage. I didn't want to alert him.

The same was true for trying to play him. Getting away safely was more important. "I'm just looking around, honored elder," I replied gently yet proudly, playing the role of the honorable yet injured martial artist. I even added a bow, which, while traditionally acceptable, was seldom given by martial artists to civilians.

"What a kind young man," the old man chuckled. "Many just ignore a useless old man like me."

"A young tree may reach for the sky, but its roots drink from the wisdom of the old forest," I replied, once again tapping the benefits of the language jade I had acquired long ago, playing the poetry angle. Hopefully, it would be enough.

He chuckled again. "How true, but not many young people care about their elders, or the ancient arts," he replied. But, I could hear the melancholy in his tone. Clearly, his presence here had a story. What, I had no idea, nor I was ready to probe.

"It's a disgrace," I replied, agreeing with him readily. Playing to the personality of the weird old man seemed like a good idea. We chatted for a few minutes before I bowed. "I better not hold you from your work, honored elder," I said as I bowed again.

As for the items he was selling, I didn't buy any. They all seemed like useless garbage, and while they might actually be valuable, I decided that it was not necessary.

"Good, but before leaving, take this," he said as he reached for his pocket, and passed me a small, ugly root. "A gift from your elder. I found it accidentally. It might help you with your injury."

"Thank you, elder," I said as I grabbed it, acting like I didn't understand the value of it. But, as an apothecary, there was no mistaking its value.

A ginseng. One that was valuable enough to reach Black Grade. Probably at least Black High-Grade, but I needed to break the subtle Qi shield around it to truly assess it. To any martial artist, it would have looked like an ordinary essence plant.

I didn't dare to offer payment, accepting the favor, which made him smile gently. It would probably create a karmic tie between us — which, at this point, I didn't doubt of its existence despite still knowing very little — but at this point, trying to refuse it was riskier.

Also, it would be a lie to say I wasn't greedy. The essence ginseng was not just a herb, but a true treasure of Earth that could increase martial talent, which was very difficult to grow, and even more difficult to raise above Profound Grade. A Yellow Grade one would have been useless for me, and even a Black Grade one would have limited benefits.

But, I wasn't limited to Black Grade. Depending on the multiplier, I might be lucky enough to get one at legendary Earth grade.

[Cultivation Difference Bonus - 320; Pity Bonus - 5]

[325x Return - Seven Colored Ginseng - Heaven Low-Grade]

The multiplier was enough to make my eyes widen. Either the System multiplier changed when the gift giver was at Golden Core, or his realm was above Golden Core. A Nascent Soul elder.

At least the amount of pity implied that my presence was nothing more than a passing fancy. I bowed again and walked away. Once I was at a distance, he pulled his Qi around, blocking himself from my view. If I was a martial artist like I showed, I wouldn't see anything. So, when I looked back, I displayed an appropriate amount of shock as I caressed the ginseng in my hand.

It looked like I had real a Fortuitous Immortal Encounter.

How fascinating…